Bottle orienting method and apparatus

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus are provided to manually discharge bottles from a tray of bottles onto a slippery slope at the bottom of which tilted bottles are gravitationally inserted into the top receiving edge of a parallel sloped multi-pocketed indexing wheel, and sequentially: a. discharged tangentially at the bottom edge of said indexing wheel in a single file row, b. automatically corrected from a tilted axis to a vertical axis, and, c. pushed on to adjoining equipment for further operations.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to trayed bottle unloading machines of the type adapted to reorient bottles from mass collection within storage trays into a single row of bottles for further individual bottle processing primarily in the pharmaceutical industry.

[0002] More particularly, the present invention relates to a novel slippery slope bottle slide where tilted bottles are systematically gravity fed downward into the top receiving edge of a large diameter multi-pocketed rotatible bottle index wheel, and sequentially: a, tangentially discharged from a bottom exit edge of said index wheel in a single file row, b, automatically corrected to a vertical axis in a novel passive helix track, and c, exited from the apparatus.

[0003] The present invention feeds bottles on a first-in/first-out basis eliminating stagnant position bottles which is of particular importance to the pharmaceutical industry.

[0004] The present invention has essentially one moving part (index wheel), is Economical, requires minimal floor space, and is inherently safe for high-speed glass bottle handling.

DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART

[0005] The novel invention of the present method and apparatus apparatus primarily includes four intrinsic and cooperatively functional elements: a, a slippery slope gravity influenced bottle feed slide having a top loading end and a bottom open end, b, a multi-pocketed large diameter index wheel, in parallel plane with said slide, having a tilted bottle capturing top edge operationally abutting the bottom open end of the bottle feed slide and a bottle discharge bottom edge, c, a tangential exit track in parallel plane with said index wheel to align bottles in a single file row, with a first bottle end to receive bottles from said index wheel bottom edge, and a bottle discharge second end, d, a passive helix track having a tilted guide, and a vertical axis bottle discharge second end.

[0006] Prior art includes gravity influenced bottle feeding slides including Krooss U.S. Pat. No. 4,496,039 “BOTTLE ALIGNMENT APPARATUS”, and Meindl U.S. Pat. No. 5,147,023 “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONVERTING A MULTI-ROW CONTAINER INTO A SINGLE ROW STREAM.”

[0007] Neither of these Patents, however, contain all of the elements of the present novel invention.

[0008] Index wheels and tangential guides have customarily been used to convey bottles including Kouda U.S. Pat. No. 5,695,041 “METHOD TO SEPARATE ARTICLES . . .”, Omega Design Corporation U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,447 “HIGH RATE TRANSFER WHEEL FOR ORIENTING UNSCRAMBLED CONTAINERS”, and Hurst U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,001 “INCLINED TRAY BOTTLE TRAYING MACHINE”, however, these patents do not include all of the elements intrinsic to the present novel invention.

[0009] Although many bottle tilting guides and tilting ramps are available, the helix track of the present invention is a novel apparatus element consisting of a solid rectangular block of a low friction plastic with a milled helix track therein to receive tilted bottles on a first end and exit vertical axis corrected bottles at a second discharge end.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0010] It is a principle object of the present invention to collect tilted bottles from a supply of tilted bottles at the lower end of a slippery slope into a bottle indexing wheel and sequentially re-orient said tilted bottles into a single-file row of bottles corrected to a vertical axis.

[0011] It is a principle object of the present invention to gravitationally insert tilted bottles from a supply of bottles at the lower end of a slippery slope into a tilted multi-pocketed index wheel, and sequentially: a, transport individually pocketed bottles to an index wheel exit position, b, exit bottles from said index wheel, c, align bottles in a single-file row of tilted bottles, and, d, automatically correct bottles to a vertical axis by means of a passive helix track.

[0012] It is a principle object of the present invention to provide a large diameter full pocketed bottle index wheel to provide high production rates at minimal index wheel revolution speeds to protect bottles from excess shock and minimize noise.

[0013] It is a principle object of the present invention to provide a slippery bottle slope from low coefficient-of-friction plastic such as Teflon™ to maximize gravitational forces of bottles and minimize noise.

[0014] It is a principle object of the present invention to provide an index wheel, tangential exit guide, and helix track manufactured from low coefficient-of-friction plastic such as ultra high molecular weigh polyethylene to minimize friction and minimize noise.

[0015] It is a principle object of he present invention to provide a bottle orienting machine free of metal bottle contact parts to eliminate generation of metallic particles in operation.

[0016] It is a principle object of he present invention to provide a slippery slope angle equal and opposite to the slope of the helix track exit end.

[0017] It is a principle object of the present invention to provide an agitating force to bottles at the lower end of he slippery slope as imparted by the rotary motion of the abutting multi-pocketed index wheel.

[0018] According to these and other objects of the present invention, there is provided a method and apparatus for orienting bottles from a supply of bottles in a storage tray into a single file row of bottles.

[0019] The method comprises manually depositing bottles onto a slippery slope to be gravitationally inserted into individual pockets at the upper edge of an abutting multi-pocketed tilted bottle index wheel, and sequentially exiting said tilted bottles at the lower edge of said index wheel, automatically collecting said bottles in a tilted single-file row of bottles and automatically reorienting the tilted axis of said bottles to a vertical axis within a helix track.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020]FIG. 1 is an isometric drawing of a preferred embodiment apparatus for feeding tilted bottles from a supply of bottles on a slippery slope to be gravitationally inserted into the top edge of a multi-pocketed tilted bottle indexing wheel to be sequentially exited at the bottom edge of said indexing wheel, realigned into a single row of bottles, and automatically corrected to a vertical axis.

[0021]FIG. 2 is an isometric drawing of a preferred embodiment apparatus for automatically correcting bottles from a tilted axis bottle input end to a vertical axis bottle exit end.

DRAWING LOCATOR LIST

[0022]1. Bottle Orienting Apparatus

[0023]2. Machine frame

[0024]3. Sloped motor and index shaft bearing bracket

[0025]4. Horizontal lower deck

[0026]5. Slippery slope deck

[0027]6. Bottle guides

[0028]7. Pocketed Index wheel

[0029]8. Index wheel hub

[0030]9. Index wheel shaft

[0031]10. Index wheel shaft lower bearing

[0032]11. Electric drive motor

[0033]12. Motor drive sprocket

[0034]13. Index wheel driven sprocket

[0035]14. Drive belt

[0036]15. Left guide

[0037]16. Right guide

[0038]17. Flexible tongue

[0039]18. Bottle exit guide

[0040]19. Helix track

[0041]20. Electric control box

[0042]21. Index wheel entry bottle

[0043]22. Index wheel exiting bottle

[0044]23. Helix track entry bottle

[0045]24. Helix track exit bottle

[0046]25. Helix track far wall

[0047]26. Helix track near wall

[0048]27. Helix track bottom track surface

[0049]28. Helix track tilted bottle entry end

[0050]29. Helix track bottle exit end

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0051] Refer now to FIG. #1 showing an isometric drawing in schematic form of a preferred embodiment BOTTLE ORIENTING APPARATUS for feeding tilted bottles from a supply of bottles on a slippery slope to be gravitationally inserted into the top edge of a multi-pocketed index wheel and to be sequentially rotated and exited at the bottom edge of said index wheel, realigned into a single row of tilted bottles, and automatically corrected to a vertical axis in a helix track.

[0052] The Bottle Orienting Apparatus 1 includes Slippery Slope Deck 5 and Horizontal Lower Deck 4 supported by Machine Frame 2.

[0053] Electric Drive Motor 11 and Index Wheel Shaft Bearing 10 are supported by Sloped Motor and Index Shaft Bearing Bracket 3 attached to Horizontal Lower Deck 4.

[0054] Motor Drive Sprocket 12 is operable connected to Index Wheel Driven Sprocket 13, mounted of Index Wheel Shaft 9, by Drive Belt 14.

[0055] Bottle Guides 6 attached to the rear sides of Slippery Slope Deck 5 retain bottles on said Slippery Slope Deck 5. Left Guide 15 and Right Guide 16 attached to Slippery Slope Deck 5 guide gravity fed bottles to be inserted into Pocketed Index Wheel 7, as mounted on Index Wheel Hub 8 attached to Index Wheel Shaft 9.

[0056] Flexible Tongue 17 mounted to Right Guide 16 actuates an emergency stop switch under Right Guide 16 (not shown) when flexed by a fallen bottle failing to fully enter Pocketed Index Wheel 7.

[0057] Bottle Exit Guide 18, attached to Helix Track 19 and cooperatively parallel with the lower portion of Right Guide 16, removes bottles tangentially from the lower edge of rotating Pocketed Index Wheel 7 and aligns bottles in a tilted single-file row.

[0058] Helix Track 19, attached to Slippery Slope Deck 5, receives tilted bottles from Bottle Exit Guide 18 and corrects said tilted bottles to a vertical axis.

[0059] Electric Control Box 20 houses commercially available standard controls for starting and stopping Electric Drive Motor 11.

[0060] Bottles as placed onto Slippery Slope Deck 5 are gravitationally fed downwards where an Index Wheel Entry Bottle 21 is gravitationally inserted into the upper edge of Pocketed Index Wheel 7. The rotation of Pocketed Index Wheel 7 by means of motor 11 operably connected to Index Wheel Shaft 9, imparts an agitating force on bottles at the lower exit end of Slippery Slope Deck 5.

[0061] Index Wheel Exiting Bottle 22 is pushed downwards by Bottle Exit Guide 18 and exits rotating Pocketed Index Wheel 7 to be aligned in a single-file row of tilted bottles between Bottle Exit Guide 18 and the lower portion of Right Guide 16.

[0062] Continuous rotation of Pocketed Index Wheel 7 causes the lead aligned tilted bottle to enter Helix Track 19.

[0063] Refer now to FIG. #2 showing an isometric drawing in schematic form of a preferred Helix Track 19.

[0064] Tilted Helix Track Entry Bottle 23 enters Helix Track Guide 19 at Helix Track Bottle Entry End 28 and travels across the Helix Track Bottom Track Surface 27 between Helix Track Far Wall 25 and Helix Track Near Wall 26 to the position of Helix Track Exit Bottle 24 at Helix Track Bottle Exit End 29. The slope of the Helix Track Bottom Track Surface 27 at Helix Track Tilted Bottle Entry End 28 is equal to the slope of Slippery Slope Deck 5. The slope of the Helix Track Bottom Track Surface 27 at Helix Track Bottle Exit End 29 is horizontal, thus, Helix Track Exit Bottle 24 is corrected to a vertical axis.

[0065] From the aforementioned description it is understood that tilted bottles as received from Slippery Slope Deck 5 are gravitationally inserted into the upper bottle receiving edge of Pocketed Index Wheel 7. Rotation of Index Wheel 7 past Exit Guide 18 causes tilted bottles to sequentially: a, exit from Pocketed Index Wheel 7, b, assemble in a single-file row tilted row of bottles within the tilted bottle track formed by Exit Guide 18 and the parallel juxtapose section of Right Guide 16, and, c, pass through Helix Track 19 where all said tilted bottles are corrected to a vertical axis and exited from the apparatus. 

What is claimed
 1. A Bottle Orienting Method and Apparatus to supply tilted bottles on a slippery slope to be automatically gravitationally inserted into the top bottle receiving edge of a multi-pocked tilted bottle indexing wheel and rotate said indexing wheel to sequentially exit said bottles at a bottom exit edge of said index wheel to be tangentially aligned in a single-file row of tilted bottles and automatically correct tilted bottles to a vertical axis within a helix track.
 2. The Method and Apparatus of claim 1 which comprises a Bottle Orienting Apparatus having substantially one electro-mechanically driven component. (i.e. Pocketed Index Wheel)
 3. The Method and Apparatus of claim 2 which further comprises imparting an agitating force to tilted bottles as gravitationally supplied on a slippery slope by means of the abutting rotating Pocketed Index Wheel.
 4. A Helix Track comprising a single block of low coefficient of friction plastic with a helix track formed therein to receive tilted bottles from a single-file row of tilted bottles, as supplied by a tilted bottle index wheel, at a tilted bottle entry end and exit bottles automatically corrected to a vertical axis at a bottle exit end. 